Stop counting it - Disconnect it when you check your timing and then hook it back up after. Now tell us what your advance really is at 4000 RPM.
okay i got all the info today about why i'm doing all this with the timing. total timing (at 4000)right now is 40 degrees. the vacuum advance is locked out (it's there but not connected). i run 111 gas in a 12 1/2 to 1. we are running the timing up because my motor goes to 8500. my dad said that yes, in a 6500 rpm motor 36 degrees is optimal, but because of how much rpm we are running we need to "anticipate" the combustion at 8500. i ran .5 faster at 40 than at 32 so it is working but i need to tune the carb or more likely change to my 750 dominator as well as put a shim in my fuel pump spring for more pressure. i'm taking it out again wednesday and i'm going to try all three carbs (proform 650, 750 dominator, and holley 780) as well as play with the timing after we find which carb works best. i'm hoping to be in the low 11's after we get it all figured out. (we're at 186ft above sea level by the way) let me know what y'all think about my trouble shooting please. i really appreciate all the info y'all are giving me.
Bill Carrolsays, "Total ignition leadover 38 degrees will be totally dangerous" - he runs engines in excess of 8000 rpm. In Smokey Yunick's book "Power Secrets" he says the the old Chebby small blocks with the inefficient chambers needed up to 42 degrees of advance but modern chambers get the best results between 34 an 38 degrees. Smokey ran Nascar engines at up to 9000 RPMs. He also said that for a race only engine it was best to have all the advance in ay 1500 RPM. He ran a locked up ignition at 37 degrees and used one switch to turn the engine over and then hit a second switch to fire the ignition system. That way he could start his 12:1 engine with the advance always at 37 degrees. The Ford 1600 dual overhead cam engine runs at 10000 with dual intercooled turbos at 38 degrees of advance. High compression engines require les advance to run higher rpm than a low compression engine because the air/fuel mixture burns faster the more it is compressed. I believe your dad's experience is going to lead to the destruction of your engine - BUT - it is your engine and you can run as much ignition advance as you can pay for. Have you ever put your engine on an engine dyno (not a chassis dyno) to find out where it gets the max power? There are a number of reasons that putting more advance in will improve the results on the strip. If you aren't getting all your advance in by 1500 to 2000 RPM then additional advance may work but you might get even more performance by limiting it to 34 - 36 but getting it all in by 1500 RPM. Putting it on the dyno will tell you the truth about what is happening. Advancing your timing may reduce the torque enough that you are no longer slipping the tires - get bigger tires and put the timing back to see what happens. I am serious - only the engine dyno can tell you where your timing needs to be for your engine combination. It is cheaper than building a new engine.
that may not be the best for drag motors though, because we're not running at 7200-8600 for 15 miles at a time, we're running at 7000-8500 for 1/4 mile at a time but i do appreciate the input and i will try it. after all what can it hurt? i did have 33 10.5 tires on it and it ran 13.5's. it just took all the gearing out of the car. i changed to 29 13.5.'s to get my gearing back and we really dont have a traction problem at all. it pulled the front end up at every stage of timing that we have tried, even at 12 degrees (whoops forgot to tighten the lock on the distributor). i will definately try the timing at 34 to start on wednesday and work from there. i got the shim in the fuel pump today and put on my 750 dominator. 72 jets square 35 power valves front and back and the squirters are a 40 and a 37. i'm also going to go through and adjust the rocker arms tighter because they are loose (relative to 26 thousandths) and we really dont need the low end torque we need a boost in high gear. i dont think we'll have any problem getting into the 11's this time minor adjustments and launching at the right RPM should get me the .576 i need.
